Portland’s BBQ, Blues and Brews A Great First Night in the City
We arrived in Portland around 7:30 last night, and wasted no time–we wanted to get over to the BBQ and Blues tent on the harbor. There were 500 people and we were told that five of the restaurants expected to serve samples of their grilled meats were no shows. But […]
Harvest on the Harbor Festival: In Portland, it’s Time for a Taste!
We’re heading Downeast tonight, as soon as we can get ourselves packed and depart. We are heading to a wonderful event that apparently is so popular it’s sold out altogether–the Harvest on the Harbor Festival in Portland, Maine. We should arrive in time to listen to blues, munch barbecue, and […]
A Good Day for a Final Paddle
Today one of my Facebook friends reported that she woke up at 6 am in her home in Cleveland, looked out the window at six inches of snow, then decided to go back to bed. Another friend posted a highway en route to Elmira New York, covered with a white […]
Red Sox Fever Goes Back a Long Time
It’s World Series time! I have a mixed relationship with the Big Fall Game, because of the many years that it’s interfered with my birthday celebrations. I remember many years when the game would happen just the night we decided to celebrate my birthday and it would always be interrupted […]
The iPhone Search Makes Me Wonder…What Does Apple Do with All of This Cash?
Tonight I really felt like I’d drank the Kool-Aid. I drove 40 minutes down to the mall, and then visited four separate stores only to find that none, NONE of them had the iPhone 5S in stock. I know I’ve been needing a new phone since my model 4’s home […]
The Sisters Are Coming–And I’m Trying to Get Ready!
Whenever we are having guests for the weekend, I often fall into this funk–there is so much to do, so many things to clean, put away, fix, paint and cover up, that I am lost and don’t know where to start. This is the day, the much anticipated day, when […]
Double Take Creates Eight Venues for Eight Plays in One Night
In the third annual Double Take Fringe Festival in Greenfield, once again eclectic and surprising are the orders of the night. This festival creates venues out of an empty bank building, an unused second floor atop Hope and Olive, and in taverns like The Wheelhouse and The Red Door on […]
A Perfect Sunday for New England’s Pats and Sox
Sunday was a great example of why sports makes life better and how fun it can be to cheer on a team. Two teams, actually. It was also the timing–a football game that starts at 1 pm on a Sunday is a deal breaker. There’s way too much to do […]
The Odds and Ends of a Typical Tuesday
Today was a bit of a whirlwind day, but I guess I got some stuff done. I began with our intern Ali coming in and I set her to work right off continuing her latest project–organizing the 400 or more submissions that have been coming into our submissions email box […]
Friday Night Tennis in Sugar Hill Georgia with An Old Pal
My friend Harry has made a wonderful life for himself in Sugar Hill Georgia. He’s at the top of his profession in sales, and he’s surrounded by a loving family in a comfortable home. Harry and I went to prep school together in the ’70s, and it’s been four […]
Everyone Wants to Give a Discount to AARP Members, It Seems
I spent yesterday walking through the convention floor meeting many people who do business with AARP members. It’s an amazing array, from telephones that display text for what someone is saying to Egypt and Panama tourism. Plus a giant booth full of cheerful tourism folks from the great state of […]
Books for Africa Sorts, Packs and Helps Educate Africans
I boarded a bus early this morning after a reviving pep talk from CBS sports guy James JB Brown, quarterback Dan Marino and Pepper Schwartz. The three stood before 700 or so volunteers at the Life@50+ National Event in Atlanta to encourage them on as they undertook many different projects […]
Flying to Atlanta Today to the AARP’s Life@50+ National Event
Today I’m flying to Atlanta for a three-day conference devoted to those of us who have already reached 50 years of age. It’s the Fall 2o13 Life@50+ National Event of the AARP. You might recognize these people as voting bloc that politicians fear the most–and the people who mail you […]
A New Cafe Will Bring Life to Sleepy South Deerfield Next Week
I am so excited about our town’s newest addition….Mosaic Cafe! Ever since we had to close the GONOMAD Cafe in the center of town, I have been thinking about how much a little village needs a cafe. When Mary began taking a writing workshop at Ruth’s cafe (in the former […]
“Your Horse is Ready”
I was relaxing after a sumptuous lunch of chicken with walnut sauce at Hosteria Hacienda Pinsaqui. GM Alex Roman came up to the table. “Your Horse is ready,” he said. With that I walked out to the green lawn near the stables to meet my steed. Maradona is an eight-year […]
Hosteria Caballo Campana Welcomes Horse Lovers in Cuenca
Our final night in Ecuador brought us out to the country, it was a welcome relief from the crowded streets and noisy bustle of Cuenca. We took a taxi out to Hosteria Caballo Campana about 15 minutes from the center of Cuenca and were soon patting some friendly horses and […]
Ecuador’s Countryside Is Full of Creative Souls
Jose Jimenez makes dyes from walnuts, insects and other natural things to weave in spectacular shawls. Rosita Loja, miniature maker